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Melania Trump to op-ed writer: You are 'sabotaging' our country

Posted: 12:44 PM, Sep 06, 2018

Updated:2018-09-06 16:44:09Z

By:
CNN

First lady Melania Trump fired back at the anonymous source that stunned the White House with a New York Times op-ed Wednesday.

"Freedom of speech is an important pillar of our nation's founding principles and a free press is important to our democracy. The press should be fair, unbiased and responsible," she told CNN in a statement Thursday.

The first lady had a specific message for the author: "To the writer of the oped -- you are not protecting this country, you are sabotaging it with your cowardly actions."

"Unidentified sources have become the majority of the voices people hear about in today's news. People with no names are writing our nation's history. Words are important, and accusations can lead to severe consequences," she added. "If a person is bold enough to accuse people of negative actions, they have a responsibility to publicly stand by their words and people have the right to be able to defend themselves."